Women's Basketball January 22, 2017 Athletic Communications

DeAsia Beal Gives Hatters a Boost

Stetson Hosts NJIT at 7 p.m. Monday

Hampered by a foot injury for much of the season, senior forward DeAsia Beal has come on strong of late. Last Monday at Lipscomb, Beal scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench as Stetson defeated the Lady Bisons 91-66.

Beal then made her first start of the season Saturday and scored a season-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the Hatters' 12-point win vs. USC Upstate. She also had three offensive and a defensive rebound in 24 minutes, plus she drew a key charge late in the fourth quarter.

"I thought DeAsia was huge for us," head coach Lynn Bria said after the game. "Just the rebounding and the execution. We have missed that. It's good to have her back because she knows our system. She just executes on both ends of the floor. It may not show up on the stat sheet, but she really makes our team better."

"I have been frustrated all season with my ankle injury, so this is just a big confidence booster because I always want to be out there with my team as possible," Beal said. "I have always been a team player. I just want to do whatever I have to do to help the team win and get to our end of the year goal."

Beal and the Hatters (14-5, 3-1 ASUN) will look for their fourth win a row Monday night when they host NJIT at the Edmunds Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN3 and WSBB radio.

The Hatters lead the all-time series 2-0 over the Highlanders (8-11, 1-3), who joined the ASUN last season.

Tickets start at $7.00 for general admission and can be purchased online (GoHatters.com/tix) or the Hatter Ticket Office. Stetson students, faculty and staff are free with a valid I.D.

Live stats, the Stetson women's basketball twitter feed (@StetsonWBB), and the new HatCheck text messaging system will provide in-game updates as well.

Home Cooking
Stetson is 8-2 at home this season and over the past 89 home games, the Hatters are 78-11 (.876). That mark dates back to the 2010-11 season.

20 Game Starts
With a win Monday, Stetson will tie for its third-best 20-game start in school history. The Hatters were 17-3 in 2000-01 and 16-4 in 2011-12. Stetson has been 15-5 four times, most recently in 2014-15.

Free Throw Shooting
Stetson has dropped to second in the NCAA in team free throw shooting with a .814 mark. South Dakota leads Stetson by .002 points. Individually, Brianti Saunders ranks second in the country with a .929 mark. Gwen Adams of SIUE is the current front runner with a .935 free throw percentage.

In The Paint
Breana Bey continues to dominate in the paint. The Hatter senior went 7-for-12 from the floor for 15 points on Saturday, plus she had eight rebounds and five assists. Her .604 field goal percentage on the season leads the ASUN and ranks 16th in the NCAA.

Up Next
Stetson wraps a three-game homestand against UNF Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.

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